Cultural heritage emergency specialists, archivists, disaster response professionals,
and regional coordinators from across the globe are gathering in Sint Maarten from
18–22 May 2026 for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Network of CER
Regional Hubs.
Hosted by the Cultural Emergency Response (CER) Regional Hub in the Caribbean and
the Sint Maarten Sub Hub, the week-long programme is coordinated by Marcellia Henry,
Secretary General for UNESCO Sint Maarten, and brings together representatives from
Aruba, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Curaçao, Kosovo, Suriname, the Netherlands,
Barbados, Jamaica, Guatemala, Ukraine, Lebanon, St. Maarten, and St. Martin to
strengthen international cooperation in protecting cultural heritage during crises and
emergencies.
The AGM officially opened with welcome remarks from the Honourable Melissa Gumbs,
Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport of Sint Maarten. In her address, Minister
Gumbs expressed sincere appreciation to Cultural Emergency Response (CER) and the
Caribbean Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (CARBICA) for
convening the gathering and selecting Sint Maarten as the host location for this year’s
meeting.
“This Annual General Meeting provides a valuable platform for meaningful dialogue,
knowledge exchange, capacity building, and regional partnership development,”
Minister Gumbs stated. “The planned discussions, training opportunities, and site visits
throughout the week will undoubtedly strengthen our collective ability to respond
effectively to cultural emergencies and safeguard the heritage that defines our
communities and identities.”
Additional welcome remarks were delivered by Sanne Letschert, Director of CER, and
Max Scriwanek, Director of the Curaçao National Archives and Coordinator of the CER
Regional Hub in the Caribbean.
A keynote presentation by Marcellia Henry highlighted Sint Maarten’s post-Hurricane
Irma recovery efforts, with particular emphasis on cultural, heritage, and documentary
institutions. She also noted that Sint Maarten officially became a CER Sub Hub in June
- In this role, Sint Maarten is responsible for coordinating cultural emergency
response efforts within the northeastern Caribbean and supporting nearby islands,
including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Barthélemy, Sint Eustatius, Saint Kitts
and Nevis, and Saba.
The AGM programme, compiled by Freddie Thomson, Programme Manager for CER
Regional Hubs, features presentations, workshops, training sessions, tabletop
exercises, and collaborative strategy discussions focused on emergency preparedness,
cultural protection, and regional response coordination.
Conference sessions highlighted the achievements and lessons learned from the CER
Regional Hubs in the Caribbean, Levant, Western Balkans, Black Sea region and
Central America.
Topics throughout the week include:
Crisis management and emergency decision-making
Psychosocial wellbeing in emergency response work
Regional emergency response case studies and lessons learned
Development of new large-scale response workflows
Public engagement in cultural protection
Continuity planning and simulation exercises for cultural emergency
preparedness
Participants will also engage with local cultural institutions through visits to the Saint
Martin Archives on the northern side of the island, cultural sites in Marigot, the Sint
Maarten Library, and other heritage venues and sites in Philipsburg.
The Annual General Meeting represents an important opportunity to deepen
international collaboration and reinforce the role of cultural heritage protection within
disaster and emergency response frameworks.